The Sith Lord of Cyclonia
by Dalek Prime
Summary: Stranded on an unknown world and far from his master, Darth Vader finds himself trading one empire for another when he is force to align himself with the Cyclonians. Now as Master Cyclonis's new second in command, Vader cuts a swath of destruction, fear and death throughout the world of Atmos. Can anyone or anything stop him or will Cyclonis finally be able to rule the world?
1. A Stranger on a Strange Planet

A/N: I don't own Star Wars or Storm Hawks. Also, this story takes place shortly after the events of A New Hope

* * *

Chapter One: A Stranger on a Strange Planet

Pain.

If Darth Vader could describe his entire life in one word it would be that one. It was pain that kept him alive long enough for his master to find his broken body after his near-fatal battle with Obi-Wan. It was pain that focused his rage on both himself and those he had left behind in his bloody path to become a Sith lord and it was pain that kept him awake as the med droids replaced his last limbs with cold steel. If Vader had any true friends in his entire life, it was pain.

Right now, his old companion was keeping him focused and alert as his ship plummeted into some unknown planet's atmosphere like a comet after drifting two close to its orbit. It had nearly three days since Vader's failure to protect the Death Star and in that time the emperor's enforcer had been helplessly tumbling through the emptiness of space after that wretched smuggler had kept him dispatching the boy had destroyed the battle station without any way of contacting his master or anyone else within the Empire .Vader made a private note in his head that if he ever found a way out of this mess, he would out who that fool was and he would find a way to make him suffer dearly.

However, now was not the time for vengeance, now was the time to stay alive long enough to see his revenge through to the end. The engines of his TIE Advanced had been completely drained of fuel and one of the wings had broken off during the free-fall. At this point, all the Sith lord could do was manage a controlled crash landing. With all of his cybernetic strength, Vader took hold of the controls of the fighter and pulled back as hard as he could and hoped he wouldn't burn up on reentry.

From his reinforced glass window, he could see a rocky surface quickly coming into view, clearly telling the Sith that this was not going to be a pleasant landing in the slightest. From within his helmet, Vader closed his eyes and silently braced himself for impact, partially hoping that the crash would kill him.

* * *

Under his mask, Vader's eyes snapped open as his breathing began to regulate properly. He quickly became aware that he was no longer within the wreckage of his craft, but instead inside of some sort of darkly lit laboratory. As he laid down on the cold steel table, he looked around the room to see both medical and engineering equipment; not doubt used to help heal him after whoever had pulled him out of his downed craft, however the question remained: who had saved him?

The Sith lord attempted to get up from the metal slab, but his wrists and ankles were held down by metal clamps. With one strong yank, he broke the restrain holding down his left arm before using his free hand to rip off the other restrain and released his legs with a wave of his hand. Despite being more or less healthy by his standards, Vader's fought off the dizziness that rattled around his head and looked around the lab, hoping to find some information as to who his saviors were and if they were to be trusted.

Out of the corner of his eye, the emperor's enforcer noticed something that was not strapped to his belt: his lightsaber. After taking a quick look around the room he was left in, his weapon was nowhere to be found. It was then that he decided to find his lightsaber and some answers outside of the medical room.

With a mere gesture of his hand, Vader opened the door to the medical and stepped out into a massive darkened hallway. No sooner had he walked into the hallway had he encountered two men who by judging their uniforms were obliviously guards and were clearly surprised to see Vader up and about. Before they could even move for their weapons, the Sith lord lifted them off of the ground and held them up by their throats in an invisible vice-grip.

"If you both wish to live, you will answer my questions" he warned them

Suddenly, a surge of pain struck Vader's from behind, making him fall to his knees and drop the two men in the process. He turned around to see a third guard standing over him with a spear-like weapon looking down him. Vader quickly took hold of the spear and yanked it out of the guard's grasp before standing back up. He cracked the spear in two with his a clench of his hand, tossing the now broken weapon aside. The other two guards who he had previously tried to interrogate rushed at him with their spears at the ready. Vader held out his hand to them, sending them both flying backwards into a wall at the end of the hallway, killing them both on impact with it. The dark lord then looked back the guard who had previously attacked as he ran down the other end of the hallway. He lifted the man up and began to slam him against both walls of the hallway over and over until he was broken corpse that Vader dropped after he was certain that he was dead.

"Perhaps I will find the answers I seek somewhere else" he thought aloud as he made his way down the hallway

As he made his way down the hallway, six more guards armed with the same spears as the previous three had came charging toward him with the full intention of killing him. Vader put his hade together as if he was praying before splitting them far apart, as he did that, the guards were flung against the walls to allow Vader to walk past them without effort as they laid on the floor, not a single one daring to stand up and challenge him as did—the live ones anyway.

As he continued to walk through the unknown building, he came across a set of large double-doors. At first he thought nothing of it and wanted to move on, but a feeling within him told him to look to see what was beyond those doors in order to find the answers he sought after. With a powerful Force push, he flung the massive doors open to let him step into the mysterious room.

The room in question appeared to be a throne room, one that almost reminded Vader of Sidious's throne room on Coruscant—only more primitive it its design in comparison with his. The throne room was empty and silent—except for Vader's breathing, but he could sense the presence of someone or something else within the room with him, waiting for the right moment or at least what they thought would be the right moment to strike him down in an ambush.

Then out of the darkness of the room, a trio of crystal-tipped arrows flew out of it and toward the Sith's head at incredible speed, but Vader merely raised his hand and stopped the arrow in mid-air before crushing them with The Force. Just as he had done that, a hulking heavily armored man with a large mace burst from the shadows, letting out a battle-cry as he swing his weapon at Vader as he did. The dark lord dodged the mace before pushing the brute back with a powerful Force-push that sent him back into the darkness. More arrows were fired at him and while he managed to knock away two of the arrows away with a wave of his hand the third struck him in the cybernetic part of his right arm, making him wince in pain under his helmet. As he pulled the arrow out of his arm, a tall purple haired woman holding a bow and arrow in her hands slowly stepped out of the shadows to face him.

"You should have stayed in your room" she mockingly sneered as she drew back her bow

"And you should fight instead of talk" the Sith lord replied calmly

Using The Force, Vader levitated the arrow that was in his arm in mid-air before shooting it off through the air at a high velocity before going right the woman's shoulder, making her cry out in pain as she dropped to her knees in agony, letting go of her bow as she did. Vader then took hold of her throat through The Force and lifted her into the air; all the while she coughed and gagged for air. It was at this time that the brutish man rushed out of the darkness of the throne room, only now this time he had a look of panic on his face instead of bravado and rage.

"Ravess!" he shouted in fear before glaring at Vader "release her now!"

"As you wish" the dark lord answered plainly

He then flung the wounded woman at the large man, knocking them both down, knocking them both unconscious upon hitting one another. Even though he had bested the two warriors, he still sensed a third presence in the room.

"Well then, it would appear its down to you" Vader said to shadows of the throne room "I wonder: will you stand and fight or kneel and surrender?"

His answer came in the form of a red blast of energy that knocked Vader aback and might have damaged him worse had he not used The Force to put up a shield around himself at the last second; something he should have done in his battle with the woman called Ravess. Out of the dark, a dark haired man dressed in light armor and holding a blade made of red energy that Vader almost mistook as a lightsaber stepped out to face him.

"Does that answer your question?" the man asked darkly as he made a wicked smirk form on his lips

Vader said nothing in response; he instead waiting for the fight was to come next. The man bolted toward with his weapon at the ready to cut him down. The man swung his blade at Vader's neck, to which Vader narrowly avoided and knocked him back with a Force-push, however instead of flying into a wall like the others had, his opponent only skidded back a few feet back, probably having some sort of mechanism that kept him grounded within his boots. The man rushed at Vader once more, only this time the dark lord was prepared. When the man made another swing at him with his energy blade, Vader reached out and grabbed unto his wrist, holding the blade back from striking. With his free hand, Vader delivered a strong blow to his enemy's stomach, knocking the air out of him as he did. The Sith then gave the swordsman's wrist a good twist, forcing him to release his weapon and drop it to the floor.

Even though he was without his weapon, Vader's attacker gathered up his strength and punched the cybernetic Sith lord in the face, knocking back and forcing him to release his grasp on him. The swordsman kept up his assaulted with a round house kick to Vader's chest that made his stumble back even further. He attempted to swing his fist and the Sith's face again, but Vader grabbed his fist tightened his grip on it to the point of breaking his hand with his robotic strength, forcing a pain-filled scream out of his enemy's mouth as he did. Vader took hold of his attacker's chest-plate and held him steady as he began to pummel the swordsman's face repeatedly to the point his face became a bloody mess. With every punch, Vader felt his rage flow like a powerful river throughout his body even more; he was never a person who did something like this, but the anger swelling up inside of him felt almost euphoric to him, like it was an outlet from the hell he had been going through since the destruction of the Death Star. With one last punch, he released the man's chest-plate and let him fall limply to the ground.

"I do not normally resort to such brutish tactics, but you forced my hand" the Sith informed his fallen adversary before adding "literality"

Just then, Vader heard the sound of clapping, as if someone was applauding his brutality. He turned to the doorway of the throne room and saw a young girl no more then sixteen or seventeen and dressed a dark purple robe standing before him. For a moment, Vader had thought that he was standing in front of his master once again. The teenager's cold violet eyes looked at the Sith lord with a sense of confidence and without the slightest trance of fear within them. Even though the girl appeared small and feeble compared to the dark lord, Vader couldn't help but sense that there was more to this child then met the eye.

"Impressive…" she began as she looked around the room full of beaten foes "Most impressive"

"It would be unwise to challenge me, child" Vader warned "I am not above killing children"

"Challenge you?" the girl inquired before chuckling as if she was told a joke "Is that anyway to talk to the person who saved your life?"

Before Vader could say anything, the girl continued.

"My men saw your craft fall from the sky within the edge of my kingdom" the girl explained "When they found your ship, they pulled you from the wreckage and thought you were dead, but that is clearly not the case"

It was becoming quickly clear to the cyborg that this girl must be this world's ruler of sorts. Again, before Vader could speak up, the girl pulled out an all too familiar object out from the sleeve of her robe: his lightsaber.

"When we searched your body, we found this" she continued before activating his weapon "I was going to keep it for myself. It's has such a beautiful design to it. Elegant, precise and deadly"

"And mine" the Sith lord added on harshly as he Force-pulled the blade out of her hand and into his own

He pointed the lightsaber at the girl, who still showed no fear of the towering figure before her.

"You tell me you are and what star system I am currently in" Vader commanded "Then you will have your men assist me with repairs with my ship and escort me back to Imperial space where you then join the Empire if you have not already or be destroyed!"

The teenager gave Vader an almost confused look on her face, it was if she been told some fantastic story just now.

"Star system? Empire?" she replied like they were foreign words to her "Is that were you come from?"

Now it was Vader's turn to be confused.

"The people of this world haven't even flown into orbit yet" she told him "Before you crashed here, we just assumed that we were the only life in the universe"

As strange as it was for the Sith to hear this, it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility for Vader. Even before the Empire had come to be, there were still thousands of undiscovered worlds that had no knowledge of the universe around them that one way or another found out that there was a bigger galaxy around them waiting to be explored.

"Regardless, you will help me repair my ship" he demanded "Or else…"

The teenager laugh haughtily before saying "Or else what?"

Vader lifted his hand to Force-choke the child to get his point across, but suddenly the girl raised her hand as well, making Vader rise off of the ground much to his surprise. She then drew what appeared to be a staff with a purple crystal at the tip of it out from underneath her robe and send a powerful blast of dark energy at the Sith lord. It was almost as if he was being struck by his master's Force lightning as the electric energy coursed painfully throughout his body, while this was going on, the girl's trio of underlings slowly picked themselves off of the floor and joined their master and reveled in their enemy's suffering, but Vader would not give them the pleasure of hearing him screaming in agony; for pain was his one true friend.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the girl dropped Vader to the ground. As he slowly rose back to his feet, the girl approached him with hesitation of harm.

"I think we understand each other" she informed him with a dark grin

"It is clear you want something from me" Vader said "What is it?"

"I'm glad you asked" she answered slyly "You see, my empire is having...difficulty with a pesky rebellion so to speak and I believe your just the person to help me end this conflict once and for all"

"And in return?" the dark lord insisted

"I'll do what I can to help you fix your ship and return to your precious Empire" the girl answered "But, for now you shall become my right hand man"

"But Master Cyclonis!" the swordsman suddenly blurted out "I am your second in command! He's—"

"The man who defeated all three of you in under five minutes!" the girl now known as Cyclonis cut him off harshly before looking back at Vader "So, do we have a deal mister..?"

"Vader" her new second in command said "And we do indeed have a deal, but know this child: You are no master of mine and if you think of betraying me; no amount of power you have will save you from me"

"Fair enough" Cyclonis answered with a nod "welcome to the Cyclonian Empire, Vader"

Inwardly, Vader did not like the idea of serving someone else other then Sidious at all, but on the other hand, there was a good chance that his master may have already written him off as dead after the events of the fall of the Death Star and could be searching for a new apprentice at this very moment. There was also a way this could work in Vader's favor, he had always craved a kingdom of his own to rule and perhaps the universe had dropped him to this strange world for just that purpose. But, for now he would serve Cyclonis, at least until the time was right.


	2. Murk Raiders

Chapter Two: Murk Raiders

It had been three weeks since Vader's arrival on Cyclonia and in that time he had been busy on keeping himself alive first and foremost. He had ordered the terra's finest engineers to construct a mediation chamber in the vain of the one that was on his ship the Exactor. It was crude, but effective when it was finally complete, however the chamber built up a lot steam while he was inside it and it made the chamber uncomfortable to be in for long periods of team, but Vader fought through it and the steam merely added on to his rage-filled mediations and kept his mind focused when he was sleeping, eating or anything else he needed to survive while within the make-shift chamber. He was given a large room in the east wing of the castle and he had strictly ordered the Talons not to be disturbed unless orders came from Master Cyclonis herself.

Master Cyclonis also kept her new warrior a secret from the outside world and ordered him to stay within her castle until told otherwise, only the personal at the palace and the empress's top three lieutenants known as Snipe, Ravess and Dark Ace were the only ones aware of his existence for the time being and were ordered not to tell a single soul about him or they would face their master's wrath. She had told him that she was waiting for the right moment to unleash him on her enemies, but now it was starting to seem like she only wanted him in the palace to keep as some sort of trophy.

In his time at the palace, Vader decided to learn about the new world that he was now apart of and study the enemies of his new leader. He learned about the history of the world of Atmos and the rise of both the Cyclonian Empire and the Sky Knights. The Sith lord spent hours at a time carefully studying maps of the thousands of mountaintop kingdoms known as terras and each squadron of Sky Knights that defended them as well as the worlds different forms of vehicles. Vader also educated himself on the study of Atmos's main power sources: crystals.

The dark lord would spend hours on end learning about each crystal and its capabilities thanks to Cyclonis's extensive private library. Vader had no intention of using them in battle or otherwise, to him they were nothing more then crutches to be used by the weak while he had the power of the Darkside to give him all the strength he needed, but he needed to learn about the weapons of his enemies and any weaknesses within them. If he was to ever battle Cyclonis again, he needed to know how to best her combat.

While he was busy studying more about crystals within his pressure chamber, he heard a knock upon the doors of his private room.

"Enter" Vader said from within his chamber

He heard the sound of the door to his room open and of footsteps approaching his pressure chamber. The Sith Lord opened his chamber, allowing a blast of steam to be freed from it as he did. The one redeeming quality to the steam build-up was that it gave Vader an extra aura of fear to him whenever the Talons or even Snipe and Ravess saw him emerge from the pressure chamber, letting it flow around him like a shroud that almost seemed like he had summoned it. It was no different this time as well when he stepped out to meet with the messenger.

"What is it?" Vader asked coldly to the Talon

The Talon was still frozen in fear to even remember why he came in here in the first place as he looked upon the off-worlder.

"Well?" the Sith lord demanded sharply

"M-Master C-Cyclonis wishes to speak with you" the Talon stammered out

Vader said nothing; instead he only passed the Talon and made his way to Cyclonis's throne room. He could only guess what the young empress wanted from him today. Whenever she requested Vader's presence, it merely amounted to her asking him hundreds of questions about the Empire and the many different worlds it hand under its control. As he told her about the galaxy that her world had no idea it was apart of, the Sith lord could sense a feeling of excitement and wonder coming from her; even though she hid it well under a facade of indifference.

Despite her age, Vader had to admit that Master Cyclonis reminded him so much of his master. Like Sidious, she was cold, cunning and ruthless with a keen and precise mind that put her three steps ahead of everyone else. Vader sometimes wondered what made the teenager the way she was today as well as where she gained such great mastery over her crystals, but in the end, he could care less; so long as she held up her end of the bargain, he would serve her without question.

Soon he reached the young tyrant's throne room, where upon entering he found the girl using her machine to design and engineer new and more powerful crystals by fusing lesser ones together and studying the results before making more of them.

"You summoned me?" he asked

He meant what he said about not calling her his master, despite being light-years away from the Emperor who may have already forgotten him in the past; he still had his loyalties to him. Besides, Vader took a secret pleasure in how much it inwardly angered Cyclonis to not being referred to as master.

"Indeed I did, Vader" she replied, not looking away from her work as she did

"So, I assume you have more questions about the Empire then?" Vader inquired with annoyance laced in his tone

Cyclonis stopped what she was doing and turned to face him. Her hood was down, allowing Vader to see a vexed yet stoic expression on her face.

"I have a task for you" she began, ignoring his question

A small spark of intrigue stirred within Vader when he heard that. In the three weeks he had spent in the seclusion of the castle, a part of him had been becoming anxious to leave this place and raise his weapon against new opponents.

"For the past few days our supply lines along the northeastern quadrant have fallen under attack by Murk Raiders" she explained "without those supply lines open, my army will be crippled"

In his studies of many different races in Atmos, Vader had read about these Murk Raiders. They were a race of reptilian-like pirates that struck fear in hearts of both Sky Knights and Cyclonians alike and had a nasty reputation to leave no survivors whenever they fell upon a ship. They reminded Vader very much of another race he knew all to well of: Tuskan Raiders.

And like them, he would slaughter every last of these barbarians without the slightest hint of pity.

"I want these animals dealt with" the young tyrant continued "I trust you can handle this matter?"

"It will be done" Vader answered, bowing his head slightly as he did

"Good" she simply said before walking past him "Now follow me, I have something to show you"

* * *

Cyclonis lead the Sith lord into the far bowels of the castle where Vader found himself in what looked like a massive indoor factory. The room was filled with machines and Talons working on different parts for several different types of skimmers around the clock, launching a few for test flights out of a small hanger as they did. The young tyrant led her new second in command past the vehicles in construction and toward a finished skimmer that put out to show for Cyclonis and Vader to see. The skimmer before them had a chrome paint job to it as opposed to grey colorizing the other skimmers had. It has four thin curved black wings and two small turrets mounted at the front of it.

"What is this Cyclonis?" he asked "This is not like the other skimmers you have in your fleet"

"This, Vader, is a new model we've been developing for the past few months" she explained "I call it The Phantom. The armor is lighter then a regular Skimmer's, but the engine is faster and quieter as well. It is even invisible to the most advanced sensors in the Atmos. This was built for only the most experienced pilots"

Vader had a good idea as to where she was going with showing him this new vehicle.

"And you want me to be its test pilot" he finished "Why not allow Dark Ace to fly it first?"

"The Dark Ace is a very well known person, and I want to keep this machine keep secret at all costs" the empress of Cylonia replied "I don't want my enemies to get wind of it just yet. Besides, you've flown a spaceship, this skimmer should be no problem for you to handle"

In that, Cyclonis was right. He had flown and mastered more complex ship than this winged bike, this was nothing compared to his TIE Advanced.

"It will do" The Sith Lord surmised as he inspected his new vehicle

"Good" the young tyrant said "Now go, and let nothing stand in your way"

Vader only bowed his head in understanding before mounting The Phantom and taking off through the small hanger, ready to wipe these pirates off of the face of the Atmos.

* * *

The cold night's air fill Vader's damaged lungs as he glided across the sky on his new vehicle. He was nearing the coordinates of the last known location of the Murk Raiders after their latest attack. As he flew in closer he could see something large within the visage of the dark clouds. As he moved toward the clouds, the Sith Lord could now clearly see that it was indeed a Murk Raider ship waiting for next their target to fall into their trap, but the pirates had no idea that they would become the prey tonight.

Vader had to give credit to Cyclonis's engineers; he was now less then a hundred feet from and closing in on the pirate's ship and still they had not detected them on their radar and after what he had learned of the Raider's scanning equipment, it was an impressive feat to overcome, and the added cloud cover also gave him an extra edge from being seen by someone onboard the ship through a window. Soon he had reached the closed door to the hanger, which he silently opened with a wave of his hand. Vader then proceeded to park his skimmer inside of the darkened hanger before dismounting his ride.

The Sith Lord inspected the empty area around him. There was not a trace of the Murk Raiders to be found anywhere within the room, leaving Vader to surmise that the needed only a small crew to run it and they where probably busy with other tasks in order to keep the ship afloat in the sky.

Just then, a lone Murk Raider stepped into the hanger, looking at a map of some sort while whistling some shanty to himself as he did. He then heard Vader's breathing and looked up to see the intruder standing only a few feet away from where he was currently standing. Before the pirate could even make a so much as a yelp, Vader took hold of this throat through The Force and lifted him into the air before flinging him forward in path of his now ignited lightsaber. The dark lord tossed the body aside as he made his way further into the ship, ready to fulfill his bloody task.

* * *

Captain Scabulous impatiently tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair as he sat on the command bridge. Normally a Cyclonian supply ship would be heading their direction about this time, but not even so much as a patrol passed by the route tonight. Something in the back of his head was telling him that something wasn't right about this situation.

"Maybe they changed their routes?" his first-mate Eyeball suggested

"Cyclonis is too proud t'a cower before anyone. She wouldn't let even our attacks make her change her tactics" his captain replied "Trust me Eyeball, they'll be here"

Just then, the ship's radio suddenly switched on, allowing the leader of the Murk Raiders to hear the panicking voices of his crew on the lower levels. There were sounds of gunfire and the screams of dying Raiders heard the background as well.

"Captain, there's someone down here!" the crewman shouted into the radio "I don't know where he came from but he's–ack!"

The fallowing sounds coming from radio was that of the Raider being strangled as well what sounded like a deep rasping breathing that even sent a chill down the great and terrible Captain Scabulous's spine. After a few more agonizing seconds of listening to their fellow crewman being choked, he was finally silenced and his body as dropped to the floor, leaving on the terrible breathing to remain.

"Who is this?!" the pirate captain demanded on his end of the radio

For a few moments, their was only breathing on the other end of the line, as if the unknown intruder knew that his very breathing was enough to make the band of thieves fear him.

"I'm coming for you" said a deep and stoic voice before the radio shut off

It was in that moment that Scabulous the great and infamous pirates of the Atmos now began to feel the very fear he instilled into his victims. His fears spread like a wildfire throughout the other crewmen who where aboard the bridge alongside him.

"C-captain, w-what should we do?" Eyeball stammered out

"Seal the door, now!" his leader shouted at him "We're not letting that bastard in here!"

Two of the Murk Raiders quickly closed the steel door that lead into the ship's bridge and sealed it down with the door's three iron locks. Once that was done, the pirates began to draw their swords and blasters while other armed themselves with pulse rifles that resembled old muskets. They then trained their weapons at the now sealed off doorway, waiting for the mysterious intruder to make his entrance with dread in their hearts.

Suddenly, a beam of red energy stabbed itself through the top of the door, making the Raiders jump in fright. The red beam then began to cut along the sides of the steel door until it managed to cut it off of its hinges. Then without warning, the door flew forward, hitting a Raider and killing him on impact. There in the doorway stood there attacker with his weapon at the ready, ready to cut down all who stood before him.

Before Scabulous could even give the order, his men had already opened fire with their weapons. The dark-clad warrior raised his blade and began to deflect the shots back at his attackers, killing a few of the men with their own shots. With a wave of hand, he lifted two men into the air before tossing them out of the window, letting plummeted to their deaths. Another pirate let out a battle-cry before lunging at the towering figure with his sword in hand. The intruder's merely side-stepped the Raider's wild swings of his blade before striking him down with his weapon with one clean strike across his belly. With another gesture of his free hand, he guided another Raiders gun and forced his entire arm to use his own weapon on him himself.

Eyeball rushed at the man with his sword at the ready, only to be shoved backwards by an invisible wave of energy that hurled into a wall, knocking him out in the process. It was now to down Scabulous to try and slay this monster once and for all. He leapt forward and brought his blade down on the man in black, only to have his blade blocked by his enemy's own weapon, pushing him back in the process. He recoiled for the hit and lunged at him once more, swinging his sword to the right, which was blocked yet again by the energy sword.

While he blocked the sword with one hand, the man reached out with his left hand and grabbed Scarbulous by the throat, holding it in a vice-grip as he lifted him off of the ground. With not even using half of his strength, he tossed the leader of the Murk Raiders across the room into a wall that he slid down to the floor in a defeated slump. Before the pirate could reach for his sword, the man stomped on it and pointed the tip of his energy blade to the Raiders face.

"Well go on then…" Scabulous said as he glowered up his opponent "Y'a won't get the pleasure of hear'in me beg f'er mercy!"

There was a pause on Vader's end with only his breathing being the sound coming from him. He then suddenly deactivated his lightsaber and stepped back from the pirate captain, allowing him to rise back to his feet. At first he had the full intention of killing these cutthroats, but an idea formed in the dark lord's mind that prepares these thugs had a glimmer of potential if their where under his command.

"Hear me Murk Raider" the Sith Lord began "I will spare both your life and what's left of your crew on one condition"

"That being?" Scabulous growled, clearly liking where this going

"Serve me, and in return I will bestow upon you riches beyond your wildest dreams" Vader replied

"And what if I say no?" the Raider inquired slyly

His answer cam in the form of an invisible force clamping down around his neck with the same strength as Vader's cold grip—only the Sith Lord didn't lay a finger on him this time. Scarbulous gagged and wheezed for air, falling to his knees as he did while Vader only looked down at him through his emotionless mask. After a few more seconds of choking the life out of him, Vader released his hold on him.

"I trust I've made my point" Vader said in a tone that almost sounded like he enjoyed the pirates suffering

"Aye that y'a did" Scarbulous answered with a gasp of air, rubbing his neck as he did "so what did y'a have in mind?"

"In time, you will know" Vader answered "but for now, you and your remaining men must return to Terra Deep and gather your forces. I will call upon your services in soon enough"

"Well then…" the leader of the Murk Raiders said as he raised his robotic arm "Looks like we've got a deal"

Vader merely turned back on the outstretched hand and began to make his arm out of the command bridge. As he did, he noticed something flying just outside the ship's window. It was a strange multi-colored bird with bide orange eyes that seemed to scowling at him, despite the strangeness of the bird's action, Vader tried to put it out of his mind and proceed to leave the ship, but yet something kept telling him that there more to that bird then met the eye.

* * *

With the Murk Raiders covering their tracks as they retreated back to Terra Deep, it was easy for Vader to convince Cyclonis that he had successfully dispatched the pirates. She gave him praise for his effectiveness and informed him that soon she would unleash his power on the rest of the Atmos before allowing him to return to his private quarters.

Rather then enter his meditation chamber, the Sith Lord instead stared out into the dark and storming vastness of Terra Cyclonia, envisioning it already under his rule. With the Murk Raiders under his control, he now had those he could call on to his work while he stood clean from it in the shadows like his master had done during the Clone Wars. He had the full intention of having others join his side in his cue over Cyclonis, but there was something he needed that was essential for this plan to be foolproof. Something that in the event that if he failed, he would still have a piece of himself to live through and continue where he left off.

He needed an apprentice.


	3. Gathering Forces

Chapter Three: Gathering Forces

Terra Eros was a small terra that for the most part, was ignored by the wars the world of Atmos raged. It was a small terra that was home to a community of merchants and farmers who lived normal lives away from the war that surrounded their world. They had no need for the protection of Sky Knights since the threat of the Cyclonians seemed so far away from their little home. However, just because they had nothing to fear from Cyclonia did not mean that Terra Eros was without its enemies.

While the people of Terra Eros did not fall under attack from the dark empire, they did fall victim to occasional attack from bandits and thugs, who assaulted the farming community for their crops and what money the people of the terra had. Despite not having the protection of a squadron, the terra was defended by a single hero who fought countless bandits and crooks from their home. She was traveler who came to their terra seeking peace and solitude, which she received when she built a home for herself in the forest just outside the small village. Even though she wore a brown cloak around herself, the villagers saw that this stranger was unlike any other race on the entire Atmos.

At first the villagers didn't know what to think of the newcomer to their wayward home. They kept their distance from the stranger's home and did not approach her whenever she came into town looking for food and supplies, it wasn't that they feared the woman; it was more that they were cautious around those who did come from their homeland, since those who did usually brought only ill will upon them in the past.

One day, a gang of brutish Wallops came down on the village and began to ransack the town for anything they deemed valuable to them, weather it be gold, jewels or even women. As the thieves prepared to make off with their prizes, the stranger appeared and commanded that the Wallops return what they had taken and return to their home or they would face her wrath. Naturally, the gang of hulking brutes did not take the woman's threat seriously and prepared to pummel her to death.

Suddenly to the shock of both the Wallops and the villagers, the woman drew a strange device her belt that ignited a beam of blue blade of energy from it. Within a matter of minutes, the stranger easily cut down Wallop after Wallop with little effort until only the gang's leader was left. With a mere gesture of her hand, she lifted him off of ground and launched him thirty feet backwards without laying so much as a finger on him. Needless to say, he never returned to Terra Eros again.

Since then, the women became the terra's sole defender from whatever threats they faced, however she remained a reclusive among the people of Eros. In truth, she hated taking up her weapon in combat once again, for she was an old solider of a great that left many of her friends dead and in the end it was discovered that she was only helping the very darkness she was fighting against be put into power.

After she fought her way through the waves of the very soldiers she bled alongside, she fled far from the rising empire and to this distance planet called Atmos in order to live out her exile in peace, but it seemed that the call to battle kept rearing its head over and over again no matter where she went.

To those who knew her in the village, she was known only as Strider.

But to herself and those who once knew her among the stars, her name was Shaak Ti.

Currently, the exiled Jedi was in deep meditation in her bedroom late one night when she felt the presence of a very powerful being in very close proximity of her, however rather then ignite her lightsaber and do battle with him; she welcomed the being into her home, for this intruder was something of a friend to her ever since she had arrived on Atmos.

"Make yourself home, Arygyn" the Jedi said as she remained in her meditative stance

"Don't mind if I do" the Skeelur replied as he entered her bedroom "I love what you've done with the place by the way. Very pilgrim-ey"

The Togruta rose to her feet to face the magical prophet, who despite his joking nature had a concerned look on his face. This troubled the Jedi, for if someone like Arygyn was worried about something, then it meant that the world may be in great danger.

The friendship between the two started when she first arrived on the Skeelur's planet on her ship. At first Arygyn was bit apprehensive of the newcomer to his world, but he could sense the good in Shaak Ti as she could sense it in him as well. The trainer of heroes helped Shaak Ti to begin her life on Terra Eros and visited his star-crossed friend on occasion, but today would not be a friendly visit.

"We have a problem" he began "there is a Sith Lord on Atmos"

Shaak Ti's froze in terror upon hearing those words. It was a Sith Lord that laid waste of the Jedi temple and all who were in it at the time alongside a battalion of clones at his side. Though she did not know of who this new disciple of the Darkside was, but from she did know was a name that was broadcast through the radio transmissions of her dying brethren: Vader.

"He crashed landed in Cyclonia a few weeks ago and Master Cyclonis has been keeping him under lock and key in her castle—save for secret missions she puts him on" Arygyn continued "I've been fallowing him since he arrived on Atmos and I didn't want to come here until I was absolutely sure that this guy was exactly how you described a Sith to me, and let me tell you, this guy fits the bill"

"Vader…" Shaak Ti said, still shocked "His name his Vader"

"That's his name, but how did you kno—"the Skeelur attempted to say

"Because he was the one that lead the massacre of the Jedi!" the Togruta cut him off "Hundreds of my brothers and sisters here butchered in less then a day and he lead hunting parties to execute those who fled since then!"

Arygyn paused as he took in the information that he had just heard. The Jedi purge was something he stayed away from in his talks with Shaak Ti about her travels among the stars, knowing it would cause her great pain to bring up those memoirs.

"I know what your going to ask me and my answer is no" she continued "I will not fight Vader"

"But you're the only in the entire Atmos who can!" the prophet reasoned "if we don't deal with this now, then Vader will help the Cyclonians take control of the entire world—maybe even beyond that if we let them!"

"I'm sorry Arygyn, but my fighting days are over" the Jedi defended in a slow tone "I will not be apart of another senseless war. The people of this Terra need me then you or the Atmos ever will"

Their was a mixture of pity and disappointment on the Skeelur's face upon hearing that, as if he already knew what her answer was going to be before he came to her home.

"Your right Shaak Ti, it was wrong of me to ask you of this" he answered solemnly "Forgive me my friend…"

With that, he slowly began to fade away from her line of sight, but not before saying some parting words.

"But think of this: How long until the war reaches Terra Eros?" he questioned before fading away entirely

Upon saying that, he vanished from Shaak Ti's presence, leaving her already heavy thoughts to contemplate much for the next several days.

* * *

Dark Ace slammed his third drink down in anger. Ever since he had been demoted as Cyclonis's right hand in exchange for some off-world freak of nature, he had been relegated to other operations that would've been meant for the likes of Ravess or Snipe and it goes without saying, it angered the former seconded in command. Now he was here, sitting alone at a small bar on Terra Topica; out of his uniform and in civilian clothing as he attempted to drink his rage away, however that would soon change, for he had devised a plan to take back his rightful place at his master's side once again.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen" came Ravess's voice in a mocking tone behind him

The fallen Sky Knight turned around to see the wicked archer and her hulking sibling standing behind him dressed in civilian attire as well and had a matching dark smirk at their cohort's predicament on their faces. Dark Ace shot a glower at the two elite Talons before motioning them over to sit with him at the bar. The brother and sister team each took a seat on a stool on both sides of their former commander before hearing what he had to say.

"So I take it that this little meet-up is about Vader?" the archer asked

"Ugh, I hate that guy! He thinks he can just walk around the castle and boss us around because Master Cyclonis thinks he's useful!" Snipe blurted out before Ace could speak "plus his breathing gives me the creeps"

"I couldn't agree more, Snipe" Dark Ace answered "Which is why we're going to kill him"

"Are you nuts? Vader kicked our asses with his bare hands and that Force stuff he has" the brute reasoned harshly "And now he's got his giant glow-stick weapon again—so he's even more powerful then before"

"Not to mention Master Cyclonis would more then likely execute us all for treason for just talking about this if she ever found out about this little get together" his sister added on "You of all people should know how that little witch can get when she favors someone"

The former second in command shot her a quick glare to silence her before continuing.

"Which is why we're not going to attack Vader directly" the fallen Sky Knight explained "he may be serving Cyclonia, but he knows nothing of this world or its dangers. All we need to do is trick him into being somewhere where we know he would not survive and our hands would be clean of any accusation"

The two wicked siblings smiled darkly once they figured out what Dark Ace had meant by that.

"Who knows, if we play our cards right, we can take out Vader and the Storm Hawks in one fell swoop!" he finished with dark low chuckle

* * *

The news of the Deathstar's destruction spread quickly throughout the Empire, even to the farthest stretches of the Outer Rim. So some, this shook the faith in the Empire while a few others such as Grand Admiral Thrawn knew that something like this disaster was bound to happen at some point. The Deathstar was one gigantic disaster waiting to happen at any moment and sure enough, when the Rebels had figured out the battle station's Achilles Heel, its destruction came as no surprise to the Chiss.

However, what did surprise him was the sudden transmission he received from the Emperor with orders to meet with him on Coruscant at once. Despite not knowing the full reason as to why have a personal meeting between the two instead of telling him during the transmission, the grand admiral returned to the heart of the Empire to speak with his Emperor face to face.

Once Thrawn arrived on Coruscant, he was lead by the Emperor's guards to their master's throne room before taking their posts just outside of it, leaving only the alien admiral and the dark lord of the Empire alone to speak in private. Palpatine was sitting hunched over in his chair as he always did in the darkness of his throne room with his yellow eyes locking dead onto him, silently judging the alien from where he was sitting.

"You sent for me, my lord?" Thrawn asked

"Indeed I did, Grand Admiral" Palpatine replied "I have a task for you"

The leader of the Empire then slowly rose to his feet and approached the grand admiral.

"As you know, since the recent destruction of the Deathstar, we have been left looking vulnerable to our enemies and to the very Galaxy itself" he began "I want those who were responsible for its protection to be punished. Those such as Lord Vader"

"With all due respect my lord, but it was my understanding that Lord Vader died during the battle of Yavin along with Grand Moff Tarkin and the others when the Deathstar was destroyed" the Chiss said

"Oh, Vader is very much alive" the dark lord answered with a small with evil smirk "I can still sense his presence. It is weak, but he still lives"

"Do you wish for me to hunt him down and destroy him then?" Thrawn surmised

"No, Vader may have failed in his task and he will be punished for that, but he still has use to me" the Emperor informed him "You will find Vader and bring him to me so that I may deal with my apprentice personally"

Even though he did not say it, Thrawn thought that this new mission was not only going to be a waste of his resources, but also completely unnecessary for Vader to have the full blame of the Emperor's vanity project be put on him when he had no part in either it's creation or destruction.

"I sense that he is somewhere in the far Outer Rim; a place that you a very familiar with admiral" his master continued "You will search every planet until you find Vader and return him to face my judgment, is that understood?"

"Yes, my lord" Thrawn compiled with a bow of his head

"Good, good" Palpatine answered slowly with an evil grin "Before you go admiral, I shall be sending someone who can help you track down Vader"

Before the grand admiral could say anything, a young woman with red hair stepped out of the shadows of the throne room. She was dressed in a black suit and gloves and had a lightsaber strapped to her belt. Thrawn knew who this woman was by reputation alone, she was the Emperor's hand; his personal spy and assassin who handled any problem that plagued the Empire discreetly and went unnoticed to the galaxy at large.

"A pleasure to be working with you, grand admiral" Mara Jade greeted


	4. The Massacre of Terra Vosa

Chapter Four: The Massacre of Terra Vosa

It had been nearly a week since Vader had received a mission from Cyclonis when he was summoned to meet with her again and even though he did not want to admit to himself, he was beginning to feel anxious for another assignment. As much as he despised serving under the young woman, Vader still couldn't deny that Cyclonis had all the qualities of a true Sith Lord.

As he entered the throne room, he found the young empress sitting on her throne in a sinisterly stoic manner—nearly causing Vader to nearly mistake the girl as his master once again. The cruel similarities between Cyclonis and Sidious were almost uncanny in terms of both political and physical power. It was almost as if the girl was some illegitimate child of Palpatine's that he had cast aside long ago.

"Ah, Lord Vader" she greeted with false interest in her voice "And how are you today?"

"I assume you have a task for me?" the dark lord harshly cut to the point "What would you ask of me?"

Cyclonis let a low, hollow chuckle escape her lips, as if she was amused by her new second in command's words. Without saying another word, she stood up from her throne leveled her staff at Vader. Instinctively thinking that she wanted to kill him, the Sith Lord reached for his lightsaber. But just as he but his hand on his hilt, a beam of purple light shot out from the young tyrant's staff, temporarily blinding Vader for a moment. When he regained his vision, he saw a large, purple holographic image of a Terra before him.

"This is Terra Vosa" Cyclonis explained "a small desert Terra that was once was a battlefield between Cyclonians and Sky Knights several years ago"

The image then zoomed in closer to the wreckage of the battlefield.

"I've had my Talons place a device that copies the distress signal of my army on the Terra" she furthered "Even as we speak, a large group of Sky Knights are headed toward the Terra to investigate the signal for themselves"

"Why would they even bother?" Vader questioned "Wouldn't they already know that this Terra is merely a graveyard now?"

"They think that it's a group of Talons that are stranded there and are calling for help" the young empress answered "Their not going to pass up the chance to take prisoners"

Vader had already pieced together what the girl wanted from him at this point.

"Instead they will only find me" he surmised

Cyclonis smiled darkly at that.

"Precisely" she said "I think it's finally time to show the rest of Atmos your power Vader. Go to Terra Vosa and kill every last Sky Knight there—show no mercy!"

This wasn't the first time Vader had cut down unaware opponents. He remembered back to when he marched on the Jedi Temple with a battalion of clones and slaughtered every Jedi—regardless of age—in sight. He had read about each Sky Knight squadron that exist on Atmos and while he had no idea which teams where headed toward Terra Vosa, he was confidant that the power of the dark side would overcome whatever feeble tactic or crystals they had with them.

"Consider it done" Vader answered plainly

With that, Vader exited the throne room and headed toward the hanger, ready to carry out his mission with maximum efficacy.

* * *

Ten years ago, Terra Vosa was the sight of a great battle between a Cyclonian fleet and a large coalition of Sky Knights that had banded together to keep the fleet from descending upon a large colony in a neighboring Terra. The battle was devastating on both sides as it raged on for nearly six days until both sides were left in ruin. Since then Terra Vosa was nothing more a graveyard, one of the many scars the world of Atmos had left with in the wake of the seemingly never-ending conflict.

Since that time, the only visitors to the battlefield were scavengers who scrounged around the fallen ships and skimmers for anything of value. So when a distress signal from a platoon of Talons was pick up on several Sky Knight Frequencies, it raised questions among the defenders of the free Terra's. The strongest possibility was that the Talons had been veered off course and forced to land there and send out the distress signal. With the war in ever state of flux, Harrier suggested that the go to Vosa to secure the Talons as prisoners in order to find out what they knew about their masters.

And so, the Rex Guardians headed out to the long forgotten Terra to find the lost Talons. However, they did not travel alone, for they had other heroes who joined them. Since Vosa was not to far away from Terra Nord, the Buff Buzzards and the Absolute Zeros offered to assist to the honor-bound knights in the apprehension of the Talons, for the now combined teams feared that this maybe the start of an invasion of their home.

The final member of their company was tag-along who was already on her way to the source of the signal. Starling had picked up the signal like the other squads had, but unlike them, she sensed a much darker plot to this. She would've told Harrier of this notion had that made hadn't been so insufferable stubborn. The leader of the Rex Guardians and the last of the Interceptors had always been at odds with one another even before the rest of her team was wiped out. He saw her as a renegade who took to dishonorable measures to succeed while she saw him as a pompous fool with his head to far up his own ass to see daylight—or logic for that matter.

Luckily, the lone warrior still had friends among the group of Sky Knights that where headed to Vosa.

"You know you got that look, eh?" Suzy-Lu mentioned as the group flew onward

"What look?" Starling asked

"The 'I know something's up and I know Harrier won't listen to me' look" the Blizzarin answered "What's wrong?"

Starling and Suzy-Lu had been close friends since their days training to become Sky Knights. If anyone could figure her out, it would be her.

"Doesn't this feel like a bit to easy to you?" the loner began "A whole platoon of Talons just so happen to crash land on outlying Terra and we just so happen to pick up what is supposed to be a secured frequency?"

"Maybe these boys ain't too bright?" the leader of the Zeroes reasoned

"I can only hope…" Starling said under her breath before speaking up "Just stay sharp, ok?"

The Blizzarin gave a nod in understanding. The team soon reached the Terra and collectively shuddered at the sight of the warzone below them. The battle of Terra Vosa was something that was remembered by sky Knights of today as a horrific event that left many of their fallen brothers and sisters at arms here to remain her in the scorched dirt of the Terra's soil for eternity. Harrier and the other Knights did a flyover in order to find a clear space to land their vehicles among the wreckage that littered the ground.

Once they did, they landed and dismounted for their rides. Starling's sense of dread grew stronger inside her, it was if some part of her mind was warning her to leave this ghastly place behind and never return. But she fought down her fears and remained vigilant; not wanting to abandon her friend during the search.

"Spread out and find those Talons" Harrier commanded

As ordered, the Sky Knights fanned out and began their search for the marooned Talons. Staling stayed close to Suzy and Billy; all the while her senses put her on edge. There was a fourth member to their search party as well; Ivar, leader of the Buff Buzzards. A hulking six-foot tall mountain of muscle who was dressed in leather and animal skins, he wore a helmet atop his head that had a pair of goat horns sticking out of each side and huge, crystal powered battle-ax that he had slung over his shoulder. The other Buzzards—Ragnar, Ingrid, Lahfey and Helga were all large and impressively built warriors who were all battletested from conflicts both with Cyclonians and the frozen, hostile environment that was their home. Even though Starling never really knew much of the giant, she did know that Ivar was a merry soul, who loved the thrill of combat.

"Bah! There is nothing here but rust and death!" Ivar grunted as he took a bite of meat he had stored in a pouch on his belt "The Talons must have already been rescued by their brethren long before we arrived"

"If they were even here to begin with…" Starling muttered

"You still think something's fishy, eh?" Suzy-Lu inquired

"I don't think Suzy, I know it is!" her friend answered sharply "And I'm pretty sure are thinking the same thing"

The trio of fellow Sky Knights looked at one another, silently agreeing with the loner. After another ten minutes of searching, they returned to where they had landed their skimmers where the other Knights had also begun to return to as well.

"Did you find anything?" Harrier asked

"We found nothing!" Starling shot back "And I doubt there was nothing here to begin with"

"Those Talons are here!" the Rex Guardian sneered "They simply lack the honor to face us!"

"There are no Talons here, you stubborn fool!" Starling shouted "This isn't a cry for help! It's a trap!"

"Now see here, you little—"Harrier attempted to say

Suddenly, Ivar began to cough loudly over the fellow Sky Knights words, dropping his piece of meat and his weapon in the process. He the held his throat as he began to cough and gag for breath. Thinking that he was choking on a piece of meat, his team rushed to his aid. Suddenly, Ivar was lifted off of the ground and several feet in the air as he continued to struggle for air. The other Sky Knights could only scream in terror or look on in stunned horror at the sight before them.

Starling then felt a sense of cold rise within her as she watched her ally be lifted higher into the air. These feelings of hers had always been with since she was a child, as if it was some sixth sense that warned her danger. It was because of this very sense that she survived the massacre of the Interceptors.

There was an audibly _snap!_ When whatever had ensnared Ivar decided to crush his windpipe and let his lifeless body fall to the ground. The Sky Knights drew their weapons and tried their best to prepare themselves for whatever was now stalking them.

"What kind of crystal could do that, eh?" Billy asked in fear

"It was no crystal—it's the work of phantoms!" Ragnar exclaimed in horror "This is a cursed place!"

"Sir! What are your orders?" one of the Guardians questioned Harrier

Their leader was unable to say anything, for fear had taken grip of his very being. With the Rex's leader left useless, Starling quickly took charge.

"Stay together and keep a tight formation!" she commanded "whatever it is we'll face it together!"

The other Knights made no arguments and followed Starling's lead. Just then, they large group of knights heard the sound of what could only be deep breathing. At first it was low, but soon the sound surrounded them from every angle.

"It's all around us!" Suzy said in shock

Starling could feel the cold rise within her as she felt her eyes being pulled upward to the top of a wreck Cyclonian battle cruiser. There, standing atop the crashed ship stood a man dressed in a black suit and helmet who looked at them through expressionless mask. Suddenly, he leapt downward and landed at the center of the Sky Knights, who quickly encircled him. No one knew who this man—if he was a man—or where he came from, but his very presence sparked a feeling of utter dread within each and every Sky Knight. He especially look a good long look at Starling, who couldn't help but lock eyes on him as well; not out of hatred, but out of curiosity.

"Who are you?" Starling demanded "And why did you kill Ivar?!"

The black-clad stranger said nothing at first; instead he merely looked at each of the Sky Knights, as if he was drinking in their fear.

"My name is Vader" he finally answered as he removed what looked like the hilt of a weapon of some sort from his belt "and as for killing your friend. It was my mission. As is killing all of you as well"

"You're a Cyclonian!" Suzy-Lu snarled

"I may have ailed with Cyclonians, but I am not one of them" he corrected "all that you need to know is that your lives end here and now. Surrender and I will kill you all painlessly"

"The one that will be surrendering is you!" Ragnar spat "You are surrounded"

"The only thing I am surrounded by is fear…" Vader answered coldly as he activated his weapon "and dead fools"

Vader then outstretched his hand and unleashed a wave of invisible energy that sent the Sky Knights flying backwards in every different direction, leaving them scattered and disorganized. Ragnar and Helga quickly recovered and lunged at Vader, ready to avenge their leader. The two Buff Buzzards activated their swords and clashed with the dark lord. Despite his large size and seemingly slow body, he easily kept pace with the two warrior's blades. He suddenly used his power to hurl Ragnar backwards into some of the parked skimmers. Leaving Helga alone and quickly outmatched against Vader. The other Knights watched as he slashed his blade across her chest, killing her instantly.

Two of the Absolute Zeroes along with Billy-Rex rush at Vader, only to be picked up by his powers and flung them into the side of the wrecked cruiser. Vader then heard the sound of a warcry from behind him. He turned around just in time to see Suzy-Lu leaping at him with her axe. The black-clad adversary, quickly side-stepped the swing of her weapon before grabbing her by the throat in his iron grip. He steadied his blade as he aimed for her chest, ready to impale her upon his weapon.

Suddenly, Starling rush in with flying air-kick across Vader's helmet, knocking him back several steps as well as freeing Suzy from his hold. The dark lord quickly recovered to reach out with his powers and take up of last Interceptor and toss her right into the Knight she had just rescued, sending them both tumbling over each other into a large chuck of rusted metal—stunning them both on impact. As they tried a trio of Rex Guardians lead by Harrier charged forward and did battle with him in sword to sword combat. Vader effortlessly blocked their blades, but he was being forced to keep moving backwards. With another invisible blast, he sent all four of them flying backwards. Before on of them could recover, their enemy impaled his blade her chest.

"No!" Harrier shouted in shock

While Vader was distracted, Ragnar was help back to his feet by his remaining Buff Buzzards before they ran at him once more. At the same time, Harrier was launching himself at him from the left with sword in hand. With a mere gesture of his hand, Vader ripped the leader of the Rex Guardians and sent in spinning in the air like a boomerang. The spinning sword flew past Vader's face and went sailing forward until it Ragnar right between the eyes. Vader then reached out with his powers and took hold of both Lahfey and Ingrid and hurled them right into a long rusted pipe, skewing them both through chest upon it, ending the Buff Buzzards squadron.

Even without his blade, Harrier still attempted to fight his adversary, but just as he went to throw a punch, Vader took hold of his fist with his own hand and crushed the Knights fist like a piece of paper. As Harrier screamed in pain as Vader clamped down harder to make sure every bone in his hand was scattered before tossing him into a pile of scrap metal. The other two Guardians ran to attack a preoccupied Vader, but with one backswing of his energy blade, decapitated them both.

Wasting now time, Vader used his abilities to bring down the downed cruiser down above the still beaten down Zeroes. Suzy-Lu tried to run over to her teammates in time, but it was already too late, the ship had already come down on squad. All the Blizzarin could do was watch they where buried under an avalanche of steel. The leader of the now destroyed Zeroes cried out in despair at the sight of her friends and comrades. But her sadness was quickly turned into rage as she turned her attention to Vader, who only look back at her in silent anticipation. Starling had managed to collect herself from the hit she took and circled around Vader until she was by Suzy-Lu's side. The two Sky Knights then nodded to one another, wordlessly telling the other that they ready to end this together.

Vader however, remained silent and still, carefully studying the purple-haired woman. Through the Force, he felt the young woman's rage, hatred and something else buried deep within her, something…powerful. Not wanting to waste any more time on the fight or risk harming woman. He reached out through the Force and took hold of the Blizzarin's throat, choking her as he had the leader of the Buff Buzzard.

"Let her go!" Starling commanded as she took a battle stance

"Not until you listen to me" the Sith Lord answered as deactivated his blade "The one you call Harrier is still alive, and I sense that one of the Zeroes is clinging to life under that pile of rubble"

Starling was confused to say the least; first Vader slaughtered nearly three whole squads and now he wanted to help her? The dark lord was clearly up to something, but the last of the Interceptors could do nothing for fear of watching her friend die in front of her. With no other option, Starling backed off. It was then that Vader released his hold on the leader of the Zeroes, allowing her to gasp for air.

"Tell me Sky Knight, what is your name?" he inquired

"It's Starling" she found herself telling him

"Starling…" Vader repeated out loud "I leave you in peace…for now"

"I'm letting you get away with this!" the Interceptor shouted

"If you wish to save what is left of your friends you'll have to" the Lord of Sith informed her "But rest assured, we will meet again"

"Oh you can be sure of that" the Sky Knight sneered as she helped Suzy to her feet "I'm going to make you pay for what you've done today!"

Vader said nothing in response to that, instead he merely strode away from the carnage he had left behind. Despite not killing every last Sky Knight as instructed, he had the notion that Cyclonis would be pleased with his results regardless since it seemed that a Sky Knight squad and been destroyed in such a way in a long time. But the former Jedi had another motive for letting them live.

When sensed Starling, he didn't just feel her anger, he felt something far greater. It was the power of the Force and while she did not know how to properly use its power, he would show the ways of the Force and even more so, he would show her the dark side.

Darth Vader had finally found his apprentice.


	5. Rivalries

Chapter Five: Rivalries

"I don't say this much, Vader" Cyclonis began as she sat in her throne "But I'm very pleased"

After completing his mission, Vader instantly returned to Cyclonia where he reported directly to Master Cyclonis of his success, however, he omitted the details of letting the four sky knights leave nor did he did he tell her of sensing the Force residing within the one called Starling. No doubt the young empress would have ways of knowing that some of the Sky Knights escaped the massacre on Terra Vosa, but from what he could tell and sense from her, it didn't seem to bother or that she was aware that he allowed them to escape; even if she had known he let them go, he could always tell something along the lines of letting all of Atmos know of his power.

"Do your subordinates fail you that often?" Vader simply inquired

Cyclonis's eyes narrowed as she turned to look at her top agents that were standing on the far side of the room with now a cruel gaze of disdain in her eyes. Ravess and Snipe looked down in both fear and shame at their master's line of sight while the Dark Ace only looked back at his young leader with a stiff and cold expression on his face, not hiding his anger from her.

"More then you know" she sneered, keeping her gazed locked on the trio

She then returned her attention to Vader.

"You have done quite well, Vader" the empress continued before glancing at her former second in command "I couldn't have asked for a better solider"

Dark Ace's fists clenched tightly as he glared at Cyclonis. She was baiting him into getting angry and it was working. This is what his mistress loved to do among her subordinates; give praise to some and scorn to others so that that she would breed hatred and rivalry among them so they would continuously fight for her attention and not try to unite and attempt to overthrow her—not that it would end well for the dissidents. Ace was always aware of this tactic from his master, but since he was her second in command, he was above the inner strife she caused. Now that Cyclonis favored Vader over him, the fallen Sky Knight was now subject to that very same game she played with the rest of her troops.

"Do not get too used to my company, Cyclonis" Vader coldly informed her "I do not intend on staying here"

"Yes, yes I remember our agreement" the tyrant replied as she waved a hand dismissively "but as long as there are Sky Knights still in Atmos, your end of the bargain is not yet complete"

It was in that moment that Dark Ace had enough of his mistress heaping praise upon the outsider and decided it was time to bring Vader down a peg. He then stepped forward to share some rather interesting information he had intercepted from Cyclonian intelligence earlier today.

"Beg your pardon, master, but Vader's objective was to kill _all_ of the Sky Knights and answered the distress call" he began in a superior tone as he causally eyed his rival "A task he did not, in fact, accomplish"

Even though Vader's face was hidden under his mask, Ace knew that he had struck a nerve. The new second in command look back at the fallen Sky Knight, but said nothing before looking back to Cyclonis, already preparing to defend his actions.

"You mean the four that survived?" the young tyrant suddenly answered with a hint of false curiosity "I'm already aware of that"

This surprised both the Dark Ace and Vader; they both had respectively assumed that the empress hadn't heard the reports yet and was simply relying on the words of her subordinates.

"But it doesn't matter" she continued "The Buff Buzzards have been wiped out and the only ones guarding Terra Nord are the last two members of the Absolute Zeros. I would've loved to see Harrier die as well, but now he's on his own now. And as for that other Sky Knight, she's of no concern"

"Don't be so sure of that, Cyclonis" a low, gruff voice warned

Vader and the Cyclonians turned around to see the lord of Bogaton, Repton, along with his three siblings enter the throne room. From what Vader had read about the man-lizard's species and his home Terra, they were a race of barbarians that were forced into an alliance with the Cyclonian Empire shortly before its major resurgence.

"That Sky Knight your new errand boy let escape may be your downfall" the Raptor continued "Starling is intelligent as she is deadly"

"You seem to know much of her" Vader commented

"What I know of her is that she is a threat" Repton answered before looking back at the young tyrant "Need I remind you that she infiltrated your ranks and spied on your actions for months without you ever noticing"

"Then we should put our efforts in stopping this Sky Knight" Vader suddenly spoke up "I will find this woman and end her"

The Dark Ace narrowed his eyes at the dark lord in suspicion. He could almost hear a sort of eagerness in the outsider's voice—as if he wanted to find the last of the Interceptors. Was he trying to impress Cyclonis and keep his status as her new right-hand? on the other hand, Vader did sound like he wanted to find Starling for another reason. It began to make him wonder: Did the Sky Knights escape on their own or did Vader _let_ them escape?

"That won't be necessary, Vader" Cyclonis said before gesturing to barbarian reptile "Repton and his brothers should be able to hunt down this lone Sky Knight by themselves"

"What?" the king of the Raptors asked, obviously surprised

"That shouldn't be to much of a problem for you" the empress furthered as she scowled the king "Is it?"

From just a single look from her fierce purple eyes, Repton and his brothers instantly backed down from making any attempt at an argument against the young girl's commands. At this point, it didn't really astonish Vader the amount of power Cyclonis had over those who served her. Much like his master, the teenager could make the slightest of gestures into something her underlings would cower before.

"O-of course, Master Cyclonis" Repton complied

With a single gesture of her hand, she motioned for the Raptors to leave her presence. Repton and his younger siblings quickly bowed before the teenager before making their way out of the throne room. Once they had departed, Cyclonis once again focused on Vader and her subjects.

"We must strike now while the rest of Atmos is still reeling from this loss" she began "henceforth, I will be making Vader the head of all military actions"

"But that's my job!" Snipe suddenly snapped

"And you've done a marvelous job failing at it" his young mistress chided coldly

"I'm not taking orders from a guy who can barely breathe!" the brute continued "There's no way I'm—ack!"

The Talon commander began to wheeze and gag for air as he claws at his throat, trying to break free of the invisible fingers that were now wrapped around his neck. Ravess and Dark Ace turned to look at their young master, thinking she was the cause of Snipe's pain since he had spoken out against her. But to their surprise, Cyclonis was equally taken aback by this as they were. They then turned their focus on Vader, who remained motionless with his arms crossed. The young empress watched her subordinate write in agony in sinister satisfaction for a few more seconds to make sure he got the message loud and clear before speaking up.

"Enough" she barked "Vader, release him!"

"As you wish" her second in command simply replied before releasing his hold on Snipe

Snipe fell to the ground as he inhaled deeply for air. Ravess helped her brother up while Dark Ace could only look at Cyclonis with a cold glare. His master regarded his nasty look with one of indifference on her face, knowing he could do nothing to challenge her. True, neither Snipe nor Ace never really got along, but it was still an underhanded tactic to use—even by a Talons standards!

"I trust I've made my point?" the Sith Lord said, to which Snipe nodded in response "Good"

He then looked back Cyclonis.

"If that is all, I shall return to my quarters" he informed her

With that, Vader departed from the throne room, all the while having his newly made underlings leer at him.

* * *

It was later in the night that Vader heard a knock to his private quarters. Currently, the dark lord was in the midst of meditating within his chamber, try to block out the rest of the world around him. The knocking persisted until Vader was forced to acknowledge whoever was disturbing him. With a grunt of annoyance, Vader arouse from his meditation chamber and answered the door. Not to his surprise, it was the Dark Ace who had come to his room, more than likely to give his grievances toward Cyclonis's choice of making him head of all military operations for Cylclonia.

It was a title that Vader cared nothing for, but not unknown to him. In his days as Anakin Skywalker, he had armies for him to command as a general in the former Republic during the days of the clone wars. But since shedding himself of his weaker self and helping to forge the Empire alongside his master, he had left a majority of military operations to the likes of Tarkin, Tagg, Ozzel and others like them to be the commanders Imperial fleets. Since then, Vader had only taken command of Stormtrooper platoons and the personnel among his Super Star Destroyer's fleet.

"Dark Ace…" he began "What a…expected arrival"

"Save it, Vader!" the former second in command snarled "Ravess and Snipe may fear you, but I don't!"

"An unwise decision" the Sith Lord said "But I doubt you would be foolish enough to attack me head-on like this"

"In that, you'd be right" Dark Ace replied "May I come in?"

Despite being slightly taken aback by his request, Vader allowed Ace entrance into his room. The Talon causally stepped inside with his hands behind his back. He began to calmly look around the Sith Lord's empty room—save for his meditation chamber.

"Love what you've done with the place" Ace deadpanned, keeping his back to the Dark Lord

"I trust there is a point to your visit?" Vader asked sharply, crossing his arms as he did

The Dark Ace turned his head slightly to regard Vader with his dark, blood-red eyes.

"You're just a novelty to Cyclonis, you know that?" he said "Once she's grown tired of you, she will cast you aside"

"Like she did with you?" Vader inquired

"I _earned_ my place at Master Cyclonis's side" Ace furthered, turning fully to face his rival "I betrayed the original Storm Hawks and slew countless Sky Knights to show my loyalty to her; a feat I doubt you went to for your precious Empire"

"On the contrary, I went beyond those very lengths for my master" Vader corrected

Ace shrugged off the remark and continued.

"The point I'm trying make here is that you're only as useful as Cyclonis wills it" he explained harshly "The moment you fail, she will replace you and I will return to her side once more"

The cyborg had give credit to the Talon's fierce loyalty to the teenager. It was not unlike his devotion to Sidious. Cyclonis had once told him of Ace's tale of how he had joined Cyclonia, and oddly enough, it reminded him all to well of his own tasks his master had ordered of him to fulfill. In a strange way, Cyclonis and Ace were the mirror image of his and the Emperor's connection through the Rule of Two.

"I suggest you watch your back, Vader" Ace suddenly warned darkly "because the moment you fall, I assure you that I'll be there to see it"

"I should say the same for you, Dark Ace" the Sith answered as pointed a gloved finger at him "and it's _lord_ Vader from now on"

Ace let out a low growl in displeasure before making his way out of the room, glaring deeply into the orbs of Vader's mask as he passed him. Just as he reached the doorway, his new commander spoke up.

"There is a question I have wanted to ask" the Sith Lord questioned "Is your name really Ace?"

"Is yours really Vader?" the Talon regarded

Vader said nothing in response to his underlings question; only his deep breathing was the answer he gave to him. The Dark ace expression formed into a sort of cold satisfaction when he received no answer from the Dark Lord before left the room completely. Vader closed the door to his room through the Force and stood in the silence of the shadows that now enveloped him into their fold.


	6. The Shadow of Vader

Chapter Six: The Shadow of Vader

When the news of the massacre on Terra Vosa reached the other Terras, fear spread like a wildfire across the Atmos. Not since the Dark Ace slew the original Storm Hawks had such a thing occurred, and to have three squadrons decimated was beyond comprehension. What scared the people of Atmos even more was the sudden arrival of this new enforcer of Master Cyclonis. Who was he? What was he? Where did he come from? These questions and more circulated throughout the multiple Terras. All that was known about this 'Vader' figure was that he powerful and wielded powers unlike any other of Cyclonis's top officers.

Some said that he was a dark wizard from the unknown parts of the Atmos. Others speculated that he was more machine than man, some sort of cyborg that Master Cyclonis created to win her the war for the planet. Some believed that he was neither a man or a machine, but a demon conjured by the young empress's dark powers to destroy her enemies in exchange for her soul. No matter how wild the theories became, one thing was for certain: Vader was unstoppable. While the Sky Council urged the public to remain calm, the citizens of the free Terras of the Atmos were in a state of fear, for if this new warrior of Cyclonia could easily destroy nearly three whole sky Knight squadrons alone, how could their own Sky Knights defend them from such a powerful foe?

It wasn't just the free Atmosians asking this question, but also the Sky Knights themselves. The Dark Ace and the rest of Cyclonis's underlings were formidable, but it had been proven in the past that they could be defeated. But Vader was unlike any of the Cyclonians the heroes of the Atmos had faced, he did not hesitant nor did he show any mercy. From the reports from Starling and the other few survivors of Terra Vosa, Vader did not use crystals and instead commanded powers that they had never encountered before. The survivor's reports of Vader were copied down and given to each squadron in order for them to better understand who they now faced. It wasn't much, but it was at least something to help them give them a small chance to combat Vader should they face him.

Among the squadrons who had received copies of said reports were the Storm Hawks, who were just finishing restocking their food supplies when they got the reports. They had heard of the massacre of Terra Vosa over an emergency transmission to all squadrons that was put out by Starling after her and the other's deadly encounter with Vader, and while the group of young heroes were too far away to offer any assistance, they offered prayers for their wounded friends and the ones who had fallen at Vader's hand. After quickly unpacking their things, the young Sky Knights gathered in the command deck to discuss what to do about this this newcomer to the Cyclonian army.

"This is crazy!" Finn pointed out "if this Vader dude can wipe out three squadrons by himself then how are we supposed to fight him?!"

"Where did he even come from?" Junko asked "if this guy is working for the Cyclonians, then why would they wait so long to let him loose?"

"Maybe the Cyclonians just found him and are having him do their dirty work for them" Stork suggested "Either way, we're all bond for a slow and painful demise"

"We can't afford to think like that, Stork" Aerrow said "Whoever this Vader guy is, we'll stop him just like the rest of Cyclonis's goons!"

Normally, Aerrow's friends would feel a boost of confidence from his words, but after reading the reports and now knowing what Vader can do, the trio of Sky Knights had a collective look of fear and uncertainty on their faces. Aerrow then looked over to Piper, who remand silent throughout the conversation. She was concerned for Starling and Suzy-Lu, who had both gone dark after giving their reports to the council. All that was known for the leader of the Absolute Zeroes was that when she and Billy-Rex returned to Terra Nord, Suzy-Lu put the entire Terra on lockdown, how the ruler of Terra Nord took that order was unknown. From what the Storm Hawks had heard, Harrier had done something similar on Terra Rex, but it was more out of fear of facing Vader again then for the benefit of the people.

As for Starling, she had vanished without a trace. The Sky Council had ordered that she remain on Atmosia so that she could give any additional information and aide that could give them an edge against Cyclonis's newest enforcer, but the last of the Interceptors disobeyed the Council's commands and took off in the middle of the night without alerting anyone of her departure. Several squadrons were dispatched to find her, but to no avail. Piper had hoped that her idol would them a line at least telling them that she was alright, however they received not a single transmission from the lone Sky Knight since her disappearance.

"Piper?" Aerrow asked gently, getting her attention "are you ok?"

"I'm as ok as anyone can be right now, Aerrow" she somberly answered "our friends have either separated themselves from everyone else or have disappeared. Not to mention this Vader person seems like he can do some serious damage"

The young leader of the Storm Hawks didn't want to say it out loud since it would drop his friend's moral even lower than they already were, but he was feeling the same way. The enemies they had faced in the past such as Dark Ace, Ravess, Repton and Snipe were once thought to be invincible warriors until they met defeat at the hands of the young Sky Knights, but Vader seemed like a completely different sort of solider in Cyclonis's army, like he was a force of nature that was ready to devastate the very Atmos. Aerrow didn't know when or where they would face Vader in combat, but he knew this much: when they did, they would need all the help they could get.

* * *

She let it happen again.

Once again, Starling allowed the deaths of Sky Knights on her watch, only now t was on a larger scale. All she could think about was seeing the cold, pale faces of those she called friends and allies all around her. It was just like when Repton and his brothers butchered the Interceptors, only back then she was a young rookie who had only joined the squad a few months prior to their demise. This was just as—if not—worse than the day she witnessed the death of her squadron. Many of the Sky Knights who fell to Vader's blade were friends she knew for years and had fought alongside them in the bleakest points in the war. She vowed she would hunt down this new agent of Cyclonia and make him suffer the same way he made her friends suffer.

And yet…

While Starling swore that she would bring Vader to justice, she couldn't help but feel a sort…connection to him, like she was destined to meet him. When Vader allowed her and the few survivors of Terra Vosa to leave in peace, Starling couldn't help but feel drawn to Vader as much as she wanted to see him die. The last of the Interceptors hated herself for almost admiring the man, or whatever he was, that butchered her fellow Sky Knights. She fled from Atomisa and traveled all this way to hide on some small, empty Terra just so she could plan her revenge alone and now she was having second thoughts?

This wasn't the first time she had question herself on where her loyalties lied. Ever since the Sky Council did nothing to strike back against Bogaton for the slaughter of her teammates, Starling had sometimes found herself feeling like the Atomisa she had fought hard for was in the hands of a government that would rather bury its head in the dirt and pretend like everything's fine instead of taking action against their enemy that strengthens with each passing day. When she was undercover on Cyclonia, she saw order and unity. But in that time, she also witnessed brutality and violence that she didn't think was possible. As much as she hated Cyclonian Empire, Starling had to at least admit that it had a sort of unity that in some ways the Sky Knights of the Atmos lacked.

The last of the Interceptors shook away these thoughts away from her mind, not wanting to linger on them any longer and focus back onto finding Vader. However, if the new Cyclonian officer was right, then they would meet again soon enough, but as to what would happen when they did cross paths again, Starling was unsure of that.

* * *

After the events on Vosa, the defense Terra Nord became severely crippled. The Buff Buzzards were wiped out and the only remaining members of the Absolute Zeroes were Suzy-Lu and Billy-Rex. After giving their report to the council of their recounts of Vader, the last two Blizzrain Sky Knights returned to their adopted home of Nord, where they gave the unfortunate news to the fallen Knights families. This wasn't the first time she had done this. During the war against the Cyclonians that forced the Blizzrains to leave their home, Suzy-Lu had to personally go to the Sky Knights and soldiers they lost during the long war for the Terra, and the pain of seeing the families fall apart before her never went away.

It wasn't just her job as the leader of the Absolute Zeroes, but also as the matriarch of her people. Suzy-Lu's happy-go-lucky, carefree nature may not of giving off the aura of a ruler, but she was in fact the last of the royal bloodline of Blizzaries after the Cyclonians killed her mother and grandmother in an attempt to eradicate the line. Underneath her normally calm and fun-loving persona, Suzy-Lu took her job as both a queen and a Sky Knight seriously when it came to the safety of her people. They looked to her for guidance ever since they departed from their homeland, and she would do everything in her power to keep them safe from any and all threats to them.

However, while she was the queen of her people, she was not however, the ruler of the Terra. The Kingdome of Nord was under the rule of King Alaric, who had been king for over forty years after his farther died in his sleep when he was eighteen. Alaric was a good man to the Blizzrians when they arrived on his Terra, immediately offering the refugees food and shelter when they landed. For a man his age, he was muscular man with a long white beard and an eyepatch covering his hole where his left eye once was. Like Suzy-Lu, Alaric cared about the well-being of his subjects first and foremost. So, when Suzy-Lu came into his throne room with Billy-Rex at her side and demanding that the Terra be put on lockdown, the old king protested against it.

"It's out of the question!" Alaric said sharply "My people depends on the trade from other Terras to survive. If you close off Nord from the outside world, then our very way of life will be ruined!"

"With all due respect your highness, but you no longer have a squadron to protect your kingdom" Suzy-Lu replied "aside from Billy, my squad's been wiped out as well, we have no defense against the Cyclonians if they launch an attack. Which I can assure you, will happen!"

Alaric was slightly taken aback by how the Sky Knight was speaking to him. She wasn't using her usual 'eh' and 'don'cha know' in her sentences. She was speaking to him like a queen. A queen who commanded respect.

"The gravity of this situations is not lost on me" the old king answered "Ivar and the other Buff Buzzards were my friends. I still grieve for their deaths, but I have an obligation to my people, and they need those ports open to thrive"

"If you had seen what Vader could do, then you would fully agree with me on this matter" the Matriarch reasoned "until I can properly train my recruits and a new Buzzard squad can be also trained, we need to put all of Terra Nord under lock and key in order to prevent what happened to my home from happing here!"

"The people of Nord are born warriors" Alaric said proudly "we will not let our home be ravaged by the Cyclonians, and with your warriors beside us we cannot lose"

Suzy-Lu only glowered at the old king's idea. To many Blizzarins died at during the fateful war for their home, and while the people of Terra Nord were known to be mighty warriors, Suzy-Lu refused to drag her subjects into another bloody conflict—especially now that the Cyclonians had Vader in their army. There was one way for the queen of Blizzrians could win this debate, but she did not want it to come to this.

"So be it…" she said under breath before speaking up "by the power vested in me as a Sky Knight, I'm enacting marshal law"

Alaric's gaze widened in shock by that. Marshal law could only be enacted by a Sky Knight in the direst of circumstances. Once marshal law was announced, a Sky Knight's authority would supersede any form of government on their respective Terra's. Suzy-Lu may not have been a native Sky Knight of Nord, but she and Billy were the only ones there to defend it of the time being.

"How dare you?!" Alaric exclaimed furious as he stood up from his throne "I gave your people shelter, and this is how you repay my kindness?!"

"You brought this on yourself, Alaric" Suzy-Lu coldly informed him "You may be looking forward to a war, but I've had my fill of it"

Alaric didn't answer. Instead, he nodded his head to one of royal guards, who nodded in response. The guards that were in the throne room activated their weapons and had them pointed at the two Sky Knight. However, neither Blizzarin flinched in the face of danger. Suzy-Lu then let out a series of yips and barks, confusing Alaric and his guards. Suddenly, the doors to the throne room burst open to reveal a group of armored Blizzarins, all of whom were carrying weapons, storm into the throne room.

The two groups silently faced off with one, neither flinching. Despite putting up a strong front, Billy-Rex was afraid that what his queen had just caused a civil war to spark on Terra Nord. He wanted security for his people from Vader as much as Suzy-Lu did, but he didn't want to depose the man who took them in to do so.

"…stand down" Alaric finally ordered his guards before addressing Suzy-Lu "you win. But mark my words, you'll regret this"

"I'm already regretting this" Suzy-Lu answered

* * *

The deaths of Terra Vosa may not have been known on Terra Eros, but they were certainly felt by their lone protector. Through the Force, Shaak Ti could fell the power of the dark side permeate through the air as Vader cut down the hapless Sky Knight that dared to face him. The Jedi master could feel the anger and wickedness of the Sith Lord as he struck down his victims without mercy. The Tortugta was ashamed of herself. She should've been there; she should've been at their side when they faced Vader.

She hated to admit it, but she was afraid. She feared facing the Sith who had eradicated the once mighty Jedi Order and dying like those before her who had crossed blades with the dark lord. But after feeling the pain and fear of those who died on Vosa, Shaak Ti knew that this was a fight she could no longer run from. She may die, but as her teachings had reminded her: there was no death, only the Force. And it was through the Force and her connection to it that would give her the power to end the Sith Lord's reign of terror, not just here, but in the entire galaxy.


End file.
